Just about everyone but bass only fishermen know about the 1/3 million springers coming up the Columbia this year. Already there has been 18,000 over Bonneville Dam!!! This early too! ...

Wind and Drano are already fishing well, and should be hot very soon. Just troll some scented flame red or orange Mag Warts about 50' behind your boat and hold on! Use 15 or 20 lb. line to get your fish out of other crowded lines. Or try trolling some whole red pack sized herring behind a 00 dodger or some plugcut green pack size. And curing up some whole cooked prawns from the seafood store in your saved redish egg cure juice for trolling is deadly there, and everywhere!! Put about a 2" wire into the cured prawn to lengthen them and have just a very slight curve to them. Use a double hook rig (4/0 lower and 3/0 upper - super sticky sharp!) with a bead and very small winged bobber above on the leader (such as a small hot pink Spin N Glo with chrome mylar wings or other productive bobber/color). You can hook these on the common way with the head down and the tail half-hitched, OR better is to go against the norm and hook them on head upstream. First cut a small notch on top of the head just behind the eyes for half-hitching the head snug to the hookeye or lower leader (if the prawn has a good beak uyou can use that to hitch instead - this is important for a great looking rolling action while trolled!). The upper hook is just put right into the face and curled out under the front legs (cut the legs to half length for this rigup - leave the tail section filia full length). Curl the back hook into and out of the underside tail section. You can adjust the curve/action with the wire or with a slider upper hook adjustment if you use those. Use about a 55" leader and 28" lead dropper. Try some with a size 4 or 5 rainbow spinner blade (blade/clevis/beads on spinner wire with barrel swivels at both ends for this) at mid-leader for a hookless attractor. Watch your depth finder for deeper pockets and areas to drop you bait down into as you troll thru them. You can also troll them behind a Magnum Hot N tot diver in the medium to shallower areas and that is really productive. This cured prawn roll is DEADLY for springers up there and on down the Columbia and on the Willamette (anchorup or backtroll the stronger outgoing tide currents). Fish on! ...

I have it from reliable sources that unlike what I thought would happen in this drought lowered water flow, a lot of fish are being caught in close in 12' to 17' of water as in normal years. I still think trying out there in the 25' water depths is a very good prospect though, especially on bright sunny days. On the slacker incoming tide current also try trolling long distances downstream. Have some rigs lead ticking bottom and some up off bottom a ways, because they don't hug bottom quite as much on the incoming as they do on the outgoing tides. Herring trollers are doing well with those small chrome "Fish Flash" attractors at mid-leader in the lower river. And Kwikfish are hammering fish; bait wrapped or justscented. The K-14 has been the 'go to' size, but in slower current try the K-15. And the K-12 is NOT to small for these springers, they love them! In the faster water from the Bonneville deadline on down to around Beacon rock, backtrolled K-15s and Mag Warts are nailing a lot of fish. At stores soon will be the new K-13 size, and it's built with a new construction technique. Early results are great. Heck, they are doing well with anything that normally works, all up and down the lower Columbia! Get out there now - before the dam NMFS tries to unfairly cut down our opportunity because of all the hatchery fish sportsmen are taking! I guess so the Indians can gillnet more springer nates, eh? Makes sense - NOT. Good luck out there.

[ 04-03-2001: Message edited by: RT ]

RT,

What do you mean Bass fishermen don't know about the springer run?!?!?! Tonight I released a 30# nate from the Skeeter Bass boat!!!! Trolling up-stream with the electric bow mount, Blue pack-plug cut in 14 feet of water. Can you imagine that site, a nice sparkley, metal flake spiny chaser releasing a big ol' springer? Neither could the guys around me. All the sudden the snickers turned to whatchagetemon?

I haven't fished springers for about 4 years, but geeze....who could pass up this run. Anybody wanna trade a bass boat for a sled???? Just kidding. Sleds aren't fast enough for me.

BTW, you got a good tech for getting herring scales out of carpet?

(Good to see you moderating here)

Aaron

RT, your info is right on!!!! I use almost every thing you have stated. The fishing will only get better too. I have been doing very well in the Kalama area. Fish-On...<*())>{

RT, your info is right on!!!! I use almost every thing you have stated. The fishing will only get better too. I have been doing very well in the Kalama area. Fish-On...<*())>{

Hey Jelly, good to see ya on here! You know I only tease bass fishermen . I fish for bass a lot. Well, I fish regularly for them anyway. ... OK, I only fish for them on rare occassions and really enjoy it. ... Aaaaah, actually only once and that was enough . Nah. Just messing around with ya. Bass are really fun. BTW, good going with the springer JH! - RT

RT: Thought I'd follow you to this board as I have viewed it a few times,but not participated here. Thanks so much for the detailed information. It is really helpful for fishermen like me from out-of-the area who intend to come your way a time or two this season. I even printed it as I am nearing your age......!! The offer still holds for boating over this way, but this will be short and odd year for good whitewater jetboating. Hoping to get up into the Frank Church River of No Return by the end of this month....will let you know how beautiful it was!!

Hey thanks 212! I have seen pics of that area in Montana Geographic mags and it's awesome up there. Someday I hope to make that trip up there with ya. ...

Also bringing this thread back up in conjunction with STRIKEZONE's Curing Prawns thread.

RT,

Sending this one up to the top again too. Just to let people know that If a guy in a bass boat can catch these chinook, YOU NEED TO BE ON THE RIVER!!!!!!!!

My girlfriend caught one tonight out of the Skeeter. It was her first salmon, and only one we saw caught tonight. As we brought it to the boat we saw a shiny, bright, silver dollar sized adipose staring back at us. Out come the pliers and with a twist it was back on it's way up river.

Just to clarify this for everyone. I am a BASS guy. I'm CATCHING SALMON---this means YOU need to be out there. Something is terriibly wrong with this picture. And to top it off, this "bass guy" is from Oregon.

Wait a second, I know what it is----Stealth!!! It's gotta be the foot controlled, bow mount electric "sneaking" up on these fish. Actually guys, I've put some serious time in on these fish this year. If you follow RT's tech's above you'll hook up. Also try trolling some Blue label herring. plug cut, in 14 feet of water. It's accounted for 3 of mine so far.

GET OUT THERE AND FISH!!!

Aaron

Thanks RT for the timely post. It is nice when people share really useful info! Think I'm going to cure some roe juice prawns today.

Five on a plain ole' red bead spinner, no bait, just changing blade colors on Tuesday below Bonneville. Three on Silver with Pink stipe Kwikfish, herring wrapped.

Two of eight were missing the Adipose.

?? OK, RT, Help us poor beginner slobs (i do pack it out) that don't have a boat. I'd love to get out and catch some nookie but I don't have a clue. What kind of gear, how to set it up and where to go? BTW, glad to see your increased activity on this BB

I was in your boat for a long time. I would suggest hitting up your friends for a boat ride, but if that doesn't pan out, I'd plunk off the beaches.

The standard set up for beach plunking for salmon and steelies usually consists of a 9' rod, a bell, sandspike, pyramid wieghts, spreaders and spin-n-glos.

Here's how I rig up--- At the end of your mainline tie on a 3-way swivel (or spreader) then, attach a piece of leader 2' long on the bottom of the three way. At the end of the 2' leader tie on another 3-way or spreader. Then on the bottom three way attach your pyramid wieght with a split ring or a short piece of leader.

This is a typical two bait rig up. Off of each one of the 3-ways you add a 1 1/2' leader w/a spin-n-glo on it. Make shure the leaders going to the spin-n-glo are shorter than the leader between the two 3-way swivels.

If you want you can add a 3rd 3-way and fish 3 spin-n-glos, but I always had a hard time casting three glos (I am a bass guy afterall ) Cast out as far as everyone that is catching fish. As a general rule, the shallower you fish the more likely you are to get steelies, the deeper, more likely to get nooks. You can experiment with bait, but in the slower moving areas, I'd stick with just scenting up your spin'n'glo. I look for points that jut out into the river off of the beach, these cause the fish to swing in closer to shore on their way upstream. It's a real rush to hear your bell start ringing while you scramble through the sand to get ahold of your rod. Besides, how many boats have you fished in that you could stand around a blazing fire while you fished?

Beach fishing can be effective, give it a try. I've caught lots of fish this way before I got my boat.

Aaron

What is a spin n glow and does it have hooks? I thought a spin n glow was just a float with no hooks in between your three way swivel and your spinner or kwikfish.

Sockeye,

They sell spin'n'glows two ways. Just the winged bobber by itself and also with a wire through it and a treble hook attached. The latter is a rig you can just tie on your leader and go. To fish the winged bober (the kind most sporting good store sell by themselves), tie an egg loop on a 2/0 hook then thread a bead down the leader, then slide the spin'n'glow down the leader. You will basically have a rig that looks like the one you can buy with the treble hook already attached. The nice thing about the spin'n' glos by themselves, is you can fish them above bait. Like when you drift fish. Hope this helps.

Aaron

BTW, get out there and fish!!! We released another one this morning from the almighty bass boat. People are starting to take me seriously out there now.

Moving this back up again for new guys with Columbia springer Q's. ...

Hey RT, thanks for all the info. I have just one question for all you springer chasers out there. Does anyone know when the peak of the run normally occurs in the lower river--say around Cathlamet? Went for the first time last week and it was relatively slow, so I wondered if it was early or late in the run, or if it was just the full moon. Was lucky to get a couple, though they were both wild and got to go back. Anyway, is the best yet to come down there, or is it already done? Thanks for any input.